Australian volunteers are essential to society and many charities would struggle to survive without them – but the benefits don’t only flow one-way.  Here are a few interesting points about volunteers from the Council of the Ageing (COTA):

• Of the 600,000 Not-For-Profit organisations in Australia, only 60,000 have paid staff
• Volunteers annually contribute $200 Billion to the Australian economy
• The numbers of volunteers in Australia has doubled from 3.2 Million in 1995 to 6.1 Million in 2010
• The rate of volunteering by young people in Australia has increased from 16% in 1995 to 27% in 2010
• Volunteers are happier, healthier, live longer and sleep better than those who don’t volunteer.

So…what are you waiting for?